


Salted and Shaken

by Tea_For_One_Please



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Fix-it, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, I wrote this in an hour, Insecure Cyrus Goodman, M/M, Not Proofread, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: S3E13 Mount Rushmore or Less, The GHC are supportive friends, be nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 21:32:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17988884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: After the Costume Day disaster, Cyrus and TJ attempt to patch things up.





	Salted and Shaken

**Author's Note:**

> Filling in the gaping hole at the end of 3x13. Not exactly an original concept but here's my take on it. Enjoy!

Cyrus squinted as the sun emerged from behind the clouds. He didn't care that the weather was brightening; he still felt miserable. He should have gone home by now. He should be working on his Social Studies assignment. He certainly should not be perched at the top of the climbing frame at the playground, still in his mortifying salt costume. His colander lay forlorn, forgotten at the bottom of the slide. A familiar figure appeared in the distance, and Cyrus retreated under the low roof of the climbing frame, praying that he had not been spotted. He watched as the figure approached the swings and sat down. He tasted bile in the pit of his throat as he saw the word 'dribble' on the figure's t-shirt.

Cyrus sighed; he couldn't avoid TJ forever. However, the prospect that he might come to the swings was exactly why he was cowering on the climbing frame. Suddenly, TJ, who had been swinging gently, ground to a stop and started approaching. _Damn it_ , Cyrus thought in alarm. TJ stooped down and picked the colander up. He examined it for a moment before looking up into the climbing frame house.

"Cyrus?"

"No," said Cyrus shortly. TJ raised an eyebrow.

"I know it's you," he said softly. "Can you come down?"

"No," Cyrus repeated. TJ rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"I know I screwed up," he said. "I wanted to talk to you... to explain."

"Well, that's quite inconvenient," Cyrus snapped, vaguely surprising himself. "Because I really don't want to hear a word of what you have to say, _Kippen_."

TJ blinked at the venom of the final word. "That's fair." He sat down at the bottom of the slide, facing away from Cyrus. "But I'm gonna say it anyway, because I need you to know that I'm sorry."

"I don't care."

"I didn't want to do a costume with Kira."

"I don't care."

"You want to know why I did it?"

"I don't care!" Cyrus shouted the last word and threw himself down the slide, taking TJ by surprise and kicking him over. TJ staggered up and took a few steps back in alarm when he saw the rage in Cyrus's dark eyes as he marched towards him. "When you and I first became friends, Buffy was so mad that she told me she didn't want to be my friend if you were. I spent weeks convincing her that you were actually a nice person. Then Andi, after the gun. Then Jonah, after the jersey."

"I know," TJ started, but Cyrus cut him off.

"Yes, and you also know that as much as I love Buffy, I felt so expendable that day that I'm not sure I've ever got over it."

"Cyrus, I know," TJ said, an urgency in his voice. "But..."

"If you know," said Cyrus furiously, "if you know my anxieties, if you know how unimportant I feel, how could you make me dress up like a freaking salt shaker," Cyrus snatched the colander and hurled it onto the gravel, "only to go off and do a couple's costume with some random girl?" TJ was silent for a moment. "You were the only person who never made me feel like a nuisance, TJ," he said quietly. "You always made me feel interesting and special." TJ looked at him. All his anger was gone, and he looked small and scared. "So, no, I don't care what you have to say. Sorry I don't play basketball. Enjoy your inside joke with Kira." He turned away from TJ and walked off, leaning down to pick up the colander as he went. TJ watched him go, and wandered off himself.

 

The following day, the four of them met for lunch at the Spoon.

"Did TJ find you yesterday?" Buffy said tentatively. Cyrus scowled at her.

"So you had something to do with that, did you?"

"Very little," she said hastily. "He came to find me after school yesterday to ask where you were. I said I didn't know."

"Well, he did find me," Cyrus said sourly.

"I'm assuming by the tone of your voice that you're not all sunshine and rainbows again then," said Andi, touching Cyrus' arm gently.

"I'm sorry," said Jonah sympathetically.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Buffy asked. Cyrus shook his head. "You, of all people, do not want to hear the whole story."

"Why?"

"Because of who he ditched me for."

"Walker?" suggested Jonah. Cyrus gave him a withering look.

"No, Jonah."

"Who was it?" Buffy said, her hackles already up. Cyrus looked out of the window. The offender noticed them, and gave Cyrus a satisfied smirk as she passed. "Oh, absolutely not." Buffy stood up and made to go after Kira, but Andi grabbed her wrist and held her back.

"I'm going to hear him out," said Cyrus heavily. "But I just couldn't face it yesterday."

"Fair enough," said Jonah.

"Please let me hit her," said Buffy. "And TJ too, ideally."

"We talked about this," said Andi patiently. Buffy scowled, but relented. They changed the subject, but everyone noticed when TJ passed by about twenty minutes later. Cyrus made no move to go and see him.

"Apparently I can't face it today either," said Cyrus bitterly.

 

Cyrus didn't see TJ again until after the weekend. He had taken the weekend to fume, and to mope, and if he had cried, well, no one else had seen him. On Monday morning, though, he slipped a note through the slats of TJ's locker and headed to homeroom.

 

That afternoon, he waited at the swings, hoping beyond hope that TJ would turn up. He swung gently, listening for footsteps. Presently he heard some, and nearly made his neck click turning so quickly. But it was just a toddler and her mother. While he was distracted, however, a voice behind him said, "Hey." Cyrus flinched in surprise. "Sorry," said TJ quickly, as Cyrus glared at him. But he just rolled his eyes and sat back down. "You wanted to see me?" Did TJ sound... hopeful? Maybe.

"Yes," said Cyrus. "You said you could explain yourself. It'd better be good."

"I can and I can't," TJ said. "I can explain what convinced me. I can't explain why it did."

"Okay," said Cyrus, unsure where this was going."

"I was fully ready to dress up with you," said TJ. "I had turned down at least two other suggestions. Then Kira showed up."

"I get it," said Cyrus, shrugging stoically. "You got a better offer."

"No, I didn't. It was a horrible offer."

"What?"

"This girl, who I'd never met before, asked why I'd rather do a costume with you than her," TJ said gloomily.

"I'd have thought that was obvious," said Cyrus. He was really puzzled now.

"Exactly," said TJ.

"What?" Cyrus said again.

"I'm sorry, I'm not explaining myself well," TJ said, running a hand through his hair. "What I mean is... she made me wonder if it was weird to do a costume with... another boy."

"Oh," Cyrus said, starting to see where this was going. "I get it."

"Which I don't," TJ said hastily. "But it scared me, the idea that other people might think that."

"Why?" Cyrus asked, starting to feel hurt.

"Because I'm gay. I... like boys," said TJ, after only a moment's hesitation. He looked down at the ground and started to swing gently. "More specifically, I like you."

 

 _Clunk._ The final gear slotted into place, and the logical part of Cyrus' brain started whirring again. Oh. _Ohhh._

"Really?" Cyrus said softly. TJ looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. And I'm totally okay with it... but I don't really want the whole world to know just yet." Cyrus felt a surge of boldness and reached out to take TJ's hand. TJ blinked in surprise.

"Me too." TJ took a moment to process this, then a his face slowly lit up and he squeezed Cyrus' hand.

"So... want to give it a try?"

"Sure," Cyrus smiled. "We don't have to tell anyone until you're ready." TJ nodded gratefully. "One condition, though."

"Yeah?" Cyrus unzipped his backpack, dipped his hand in and pulled out the colander.

"You have to wear this all the way home." TJ burst out laughing and took it from him.

"I think I can accept that."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you've enjoyed it, please leave a comment with your thoughts and / or hit me up on Tumblr (@tea-for-one-please)!


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